The 2024 MLB season is right around the corner, but big moves are still being made by teams across the league. Case in point, the San Diego Padres and Chicago White Sox pulled off a massive blockbuster trade on Wednesday night that saw ace Dylan Cease land with the Padres in exchange for a massive haul of prospects.
Cease had been involved in trade rumors all offseason long, but things seemed to pick up steam in the past few days with several teams realizing that they needed more starting pitching. The White Sox didn't seem outrageously motivated to move on from Cease, but they finally got a package in return for him that met their massive asking price.
The Padres got their ace, while the White Sox added reinforcements to a farm system that was in desperate need of some extra help. But which team came out on top in this deal now that all the details are known? Let's take a closer look at the trade and answer that big question, while also addressing several other notes that popped up as a result of this surprising move.
Padres get: SP Dylan Cease
White Sox get: RHP Drew Thorpe, RHP Jairo Iriarte, OF Samuel Zavala, RHP Steven Wilson
The Padres are in a bit of a strange spot. Despite fielding one of the most talented teams in the majors last season, they didn't even find their way into the postseason, and have turned things over a bit this offseason as a result. Juan Soto was traded to the New York Yankees, and star closer Josh Hader left in free agency for the Houston Astros.
Adding Cease makes sense in that San Diego desperately needed another starter to come in and fill out their rotation. Yu Darvish and Joe Musgrove are a solid one-two punch, but behind them, there are a lot of question marks. Now they have Cease to come in and fill one of those spots, and adding a star ace isn't exactly a bad way to fill one of your spots in the starting rotation.
Cease broke out in 2022 with the White Sox, but he took a pretty notable step back in 2023 (7-9, 4.58 ERA, 214 K, 1.42 WHIP). After finishing second in the American League Cy Young race, seeing Cease struggle was concerning. He still struckout and walked a lot of batters, but he was also getting shelled at a rate not seen since his major league debut back in 2019.
The move to San Diego should help him. While the Padres are in a strange spot, they are way better than Chicago is, and they are one of the best defensive teams in the league, while Chicago is one of the worst. Petco Park is also one of the most pitcher-friendly stadiums in the league, and while Guaranteed Rate Field isn't exactly a hitter-friendly park, the gap between them is pretty clear.
There are some question marks surrounding this trade for San Diego, though. This is a pretty big move that is typically reserved for a surefire contender, but we don't really know if that's what this team is. And, as we just noted, Cease was not exactly pitching like an ace in 2023; what happens if he struggles again in 2024?
San Diego has enough prospects where they were able to pull this deal off without really blinking an eye, but this is a big gamble for them, especially considering they just traded Soto away a few months ago. They have Cease under team control for two more seasons, but if the Padres don't win, none of that will matter. The hope is that his addition will help them win, and while it's not a home run move, it should help the team accomplish that goal.
Final Grade: B
Whereas the Padres are in a bit of a strange spot, the White Sox are clearly rebuilding. While they wanted to hold onto Cease, there was virtually no benefit in doing so. The front office finally relented and moved on from him, and while they may not have gotten as big of a return as they were hoping for, there's no doubt that they got their money's worth from this deal.
The headline prospect in this return is Drew Thorpe, who is listed as the number 84 prospect in the MLB's top 100 list. Thorpe was dominant last season at High-A and Double-A for San Diego (14-2, 2.52 ERA, 182 K, 0.98 WHIP), and if he has a hot start to the season in the minors, he could end up making his major league debut at some point this year for the rebuilding White Sox.
Beyond Thorpe, both Jairo Iriarte and Samuel Zavala are solid players who will quickly become top 10 prospects for Chicago. Iriarte wasn't as dominant as Thorpe at both High-A and Double-A as well last season (3-4, 3.49 ERA, 128 K, 1.28 WHIP), but at 22 years old, he has a bit more time to develop. Zavala is still just 19 years old, but he showed incredible upside last season at Single and High-A ball (.243 BA, 14 HR, 77 RBI, 21 SB, .797 OPS), and he could just end up becoming the best player of this group.
The final piece of this deal is Steven Wilson, who will immediately slot into the White Sox major league bullpen after a strong 2023 campaign for the Padres (1-2, 3.91 ERA, 57 K, 1.17 WHIP). Wilson will likely be the most impactful major league player this year in this deal for Chicago, but that's not what the team was looking for in moving Cease.
The prospect haul is a big one for the Sox, and you cannot be upset with them for picking up prospects in exchange for Cease given the state of their team. It's tough to predict how these prospects will turn out, but there's no doubt that Chicago's farm system is in a better spot than it was at the beginning of Wednesday, and given how clear of a goal the front office achieved with this move, they get the higher grade of the two teams involved in this blockbuster trade.
Final Grade: A-
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